FINANCE
• Will the city council outlaw the 'R' word next? As Merrill Lynch's chief economist puts it, calling the recent downturn a recession "is like looking a client in the eye and telling them that their child is ugly." [FT via MSN]
• Second Life's going through something of a recession too, but the Post thinks the cyber version of Fed chief Ben Bernanke is taking a more proactive role. Snap! [NYP]
• The hardest hit hedge funds in August include lots of big names, like Paul Tudor Jones, Louis Bacon, and Bruce Kovner. [FT via MSN]